1. Field
Methods and apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to methods of and ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses for displaying an elastography image. More particularly, methods and apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a method of acquiring a good-quality elastography image from a plurality of elastography images and displaying the good-quality elastography image, and an ultrasound diagnosis apparatus performing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses transmit an ultrasonic signal from the surface of the body of an object toward an inner part of the body by using a probe and obtain an image of a cross-section of a soft tissue or an image of blood flow by using information about an ultrasonic signal reflected by the inner part of the body.
Such ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses are compact and inexpensive and display a captured image in real time. In addition, the ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses are safe due to the lack of radioactive exposure, such as, exposure to X-rays, and thus are widely used together with other image diagnosis apparatuses such as an X-ray diagnosis apparatus, a computed tomography (CT) scanner, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus, a nuclear medical diagnosis apparatus, and the like.
Elastography is an ultrasound imaging modality to represent the elastic properties of an object via an image. The elastic properties of an object provide qualitative or quantitative information about diseases associated with the elasticity of a body tissue, such as cancers and liver cirrhosis.
Tumors are harder than normal tissue. In other words, the elasticity of a tumor is smaller than that of a normal tissue, and thus, when the same pressure is applied to the tumor and the normal tissue, a strain of the normal tissue is greater than that of the tumor. Thus, elastography may be used to diagnose tumors or cancers. Because ultrasound diagnosis apparatuses can be used very conveniently and quickly compared with other medical image diagnosis apparatuses, elastography image technology using ultrasonic waves may be used in the early diagnosis of various diseases.